This is the reason why I am one lucky SOB!!!!!

That's me on a big a$$ skid loader!!!!!!! WOW!!! The death and destruction, Manowar song, I could with that thing if I had one!!!! This was taken last weekend while up at my best friend Boike and his lovely wife's horse farm up in VA. They have over 550 acres of fun filled land!



Dang beautiful I tell ya!!! The place is pretty old too..... Check it out!!!!! It's sooooo old that trees are growing through the old farm equipment.


They have all kinds of toys up there!!!! I spend a lot of my time working on stuff like bush hoggin' their fields!!! It's basically a huge lawn mower. This one is 10 feet... This is the one I take out...


Bush hoggin' is my moment of zen. I love it and Boike and Mese do too because they can just throw me on that thing in the morning and I bush hog all day and their fields are mowed..... AHHHHH YES!!! I marinate with my ear plugs in and straw hat. I ponder everything out there..... Let me give you an example of the stuff I think about:

• I wonder how the grass I planted is doing?
• Should I break down and pay a nice pair of prescription sunglasses or just keep on getting the cheap ones from the Dollar store?
• If my little nephew Charlie saw me on this thing he would be soooooo excited!!! That kid loves tractors!!!
  
• I wonder what my MPG were in the Civic on the way up here???
• I should not have asked that beautiful woman if I could check her for ticks... Bad pick up line! Note to self, Don't use it again.....
• WHOW fella!!! Slow down! You are going too fast and Boike told you to take it slow and easy.
• I wonder if the Sabres are going to win the cup? I hope so!!!! Man what a party that will be up in Buffalo!
• DANG!! This seat is so uncomfortable!!!! Boike really needs to get some padding for it....
  
• I really need to get the new Rush cd.... The one song I heard ROCKS!
• When I get home I need to check about switching my auto and homeowners insurance to Farm Bureau.
• Why did Boike put a plastic bag over the seat??? What's the purpose? It's definitely not making it any easier to sit on.....

You get the point... Pretty random stuff....

In all I had a great time.... Not only did I tear up the woods with the skid loader,


looks like Da Nang back in 68 after a nice round of bombing!!! Mese gave me my first riding lesson!!!!


Say hello to Blaze. He's a big boy but very gentle..... Mese taught me all the stuff just to get a horse ready to ride and then I took Blaze around in circles.... I'm not sure if I was actually directing him where to go or if he was just following Mese around because she had a pocket full of carrots.... Regardless, It was a blast!!!! Like the hat???? It's actually a helmet. When you are on a 2000 pound animal you don't want to take any chances.... I didn't want to pull a Christopher Reeves, God rest his soul.

AND!!! The grass is growing.... My R & D team, me, have come to the realization that the reason the grass is not growing in some of the areas is because the soil is just CRAP!!!!! I need to take a rototiller to it.


Well the first stop on the McBride world tour is complete and up next is Michigan International Speedway in June!!! WOO HOO!!!! I also have to get the LakeLand ready for the 4th of July.....


A HUGE tree fell out there and it needs to be cut up and the place needs to be mowed and raked so when a "certain" person comes down for the party he's not crying because he can't walk barefoot because he might step on a gum ball and hurt his delicate foot.... GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any volunteers are welcome to join me in the fun..... Just drop me a line.

BAILEY BAILEY BAILEY!!!!!!!! I'M WATCHING BAILEY!!!!

I was informed by Bailey's owner, Steph, that she was very disappointed in not seeing any pictures of her baby on my last blog... And one thing about her is she does not shy away from letting someone know how see feels... So Steph!!! This entry is all about Bailey!!!!!! Before I start talking about Bailey I realized that you have not seen what Steph looks like... Well here is the answer to your question!

KIDDING!!!!!!! This is a real picture of her...
 I think she told me that this one was taken of her on one of those SI swimsuit photo shoots..... I don't think she remembers that particular one because after you have been on over 1000 photo shoots they all kinda blend together....

OK!!!! Let's talk about Bailey.... She is one of the best dogs I have ever watched with apologies to Wylie, Maggie, Georgia, Sarge, Skeebo, Duke, Marley, Daisy, Carolina and any other pupper I have watched and taken care of. She is one of those dogs that you have no problem letting roam your house when you are at work... This is Bailey!!!
 
Yeap you got it!!! She's on my couch! Oh look!!! Now she's on my bed getting ready to sleep for the night!!
 Here we are doing what we do best, watching some TLC!!!!!
 
This is where Steph and I don't exactly see eye to eye.... If the dog is well mannered then I have no problem letting them do their thing. They are my guest and I treat them like my buddy. We do everything together. Steph is from the school of "dog discipline"... And for the record I want to say that there is nothing wrong with that at all... I would be like that myself if I had a dog. But I treat Bailey to a vacation when she stays with me. This isn't funny, WELL!?!?!??!?! Yeah it is. When I return Bailey she tends to still think she is on vacation and jumps on Steph's couch and bed..... I don't think that makes Steph too happy having to spend a week yelling at her to get off the furniture. She tells people about the ordeal I put her through. When I was leaving her townhouse with Bailey her elderly neighbor said, "Now don't let her sleep in your bed." GREAT STUFF!!!!! I just had to chuckle....

It's pretty cool to come home from work and take her for a walk and play out in the yard... She's such a good girl that I can work out there and know that she's not going to stray away..... Great pupper I tell ya!!!!!!

SWEET!!!!! I hope this satisfies Steph!!!! Her baby is now on the world wide web!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

Now for the rest of the news..... Not sure if you heard but my brother and his wife had another baby boy on Dec. 20th!!!! He's a cute little booger and his name is Nicholas...

The other two boys are doing just fine as well... Jack will be 4 in May and Charlie will be 3 the same month!!!!! Here they are marinating in my truck.....

Not sure what's on Charlie's face. Heaven knows what that kid got into.... I think it might just be a reflection. Hey!!! Did you see the camouflage steering wheel cover????? If not, here's a better look at it.


That my friends is a Big Lots special and it and solidifies me as a true Lancasterian, or whatever they call people that live in Lancaster.

Hey it's almost summer time and you know what that means?!?!?!?! Fun times at the Lancaster Motor Speedway!!!!! It's about 500 yards, 5 football fields, away from my house.... I have never been but that might change this season..... Word on the street is that there are women there with a few of their teeth that love watching dirt track racin'!!!!! I need to go and check it out!!!

Here we go again!!!! I was in Big Lots the other day and I was drawn to the bags of grass seed they sell!!!! Now granted, I know it's probably not the best seed man has ever created !!! I'm sure it has weed seeds in it and everything. BUT!!! For the price, $7, I'm willing to take that gamble!!!! Before I can plant it I need to do some prepping and planning.... Not only did I find grass seed there BUT also some weed/crabgrass killer spray, potting soil and insect killer to spread out on my lawn.... AND don't get me started on all the yard tools they have! Big Lots is a plethora of yard stuff! Like that???? Plethora is a pretty big word for me! I am using the side of my house as my test center....



I guess you could call it the "McBride Research & Development Facility"... OK.... First thing I did was test the weed/crabgrass spray...... This is sooooo anal of me but I sprayed two areas. One with a spray I bought at Big Lots and the other one from Dollar General. As you can see, I placed flags in each area so I know what product I sprayed!!! HE HE HE HE HE HE!!! You don't see that too much do you? Except a late night infomercial for Oxiclean!



Yeap!! I am a full fledge cheapo!!!! Guilty as charged!!! BUT DANGIT!!!!!! I'm all about getting more bang for my buck!!!!

So now it's a waiting game.... I need to see what product works the best and then I will spray the whole area and kill all the nasty weeds and moss... Then fertilize and lay down the grass seed and water the heck out of it!!!!! I wish I had one of those time lapse cameras so you could see every minute of the fun but I don't! Unless they start selling them at Big Lots!!!! WOO HOO!!!! Anyways, I will continue to take pictures of the progress!

So exhibit 'A' won the contest so I poured it into a sprayer and mixed it with some water, you know, So I could get more out of it!!! HE HE HE HE!!! And Bailey helped kill grass too by using her potent pee!!!!


All the grass is dead and I 'hard raked' it and spread the seed and some fertilizer my brother gave me.. Yeap!!! I am such a hand-me-down guy!!!! But who cares!!!!! If it works then we will all be happy right????? If not, then I'll just start over with a better grass seed... No harm no foul.....


Alrighty kids!!! I'm off to VA. to Boike and Mese's horse farm to play on their tractor and new skid loader!!!!! That thing can rip out tree trucks!!!!!
I'm also going to learn how to ride a horse!!!!! One of the many things in the 'evolving of Andy'!!!!! Plus I hear chicks dig it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I know... I say that all the time but it's true... And to cap it off, we are going to the Gold Cup Steeple Chase!!!!Don't worry!!! I'll have pictures of the whole thing so don't get your underwear in a wad!!!!!

What's the good word!?!?!?!!?!? I hope all is well in your neck of the woods... Enough greetings!!!! I know what you are all here for!!!!! Pictures!!!!! I know but hold up a few minutes.... To all of you that actually read this stuff and don't treat me like a 'picture whore'. I want to let you know that I was offered and accepted a new position here at Wells Fargo! So all is good!!!! Everything transferred to the new job including salary, benefits and vacation time!!!! I'm in a dept called Loss Mitigation..... I know! Y-all are like, WHAT DEPT?????? In a nutshell this is what I do. A customer goes into default on their mortgage, not just missing one payment but missing up to 8, and I get as much info as I can from the customer and try to set them up on a repayment or modification plan so they do not go into foreclosure. See here's a secret from the mortgage world.... It costs more to have someone foreclosed than it does if they can pay some of the their loan...... Keep that on the DL, Down Low, and if anyone asks you tell them that you didn't hear it from me.....

Alright!!! Picture time!!!!!! As you can see, project 'drainage ditch' is coming along very slowly!!

I usually come home from work and dig a little bit each day but I have had a few things come up where I was not doing that..... Doing some dog sitting and stuff like that.... PLUS!!!! When it rains, it's a MESS!!!!! Red clay mud everywhere!!! I'm not a big fan!!!!! So when it rains I have to wait a few days for it to dry out...

I don't know about where you live but the weather has been all jacked up around here!!!! It actually froze the other night and I think it did some damage to my shrubs!!! Take a look... What do you think???


I have a summer chalked full of trips and FUN FUN FUN till daddy takes the T-Bird away!!! I have trips to the Gold Cup in VA. during May, the race at Michigan International Speedway in June and of course the July 4th festivities at the Boike LakeLand!!!!! The schedule will be tight but I think I'll manage and get the retaining wall completed... The fun already started a few weeks ago when Cofer, my lovable college roommate, took me to Bristol!!!!

HEY!!!! One other thing! I'll be the HUGE 34 on Friday the 27th so this is what I'm asking for..... 1. MONEY to help me pay for the operation I need to remove the hump on my back! AH HELL!!! Who am I kidding? I don't have a hump... I just love money!!!! 2. A gorgeous woman to jump out of a cake and sing "Happy birthday Mr. President."MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DARE TO DREAM!!!!!!!!

Hey man! Nice shot!!! Sorry about that but Sirius has a new station called "90's Alternative" and they were playing that song!!!! AHHHHHH All this music reminds me of working at 106.5..... Being young and footloose!!! The good old days!!!! When I wasn't laid off all the time!!! ANYWAYS!!!! My friend Robert and I started working on the ditch bright and early on Saturday.... Let me tell ya! It's a huge difference when you have someone helping you..... If it was just me then there would probably just be one or two RR ties in place.... I tell ya!!!! I have some great friends. Not only did Robert help but I also received emails from my other friend Thompson. No that's not his first name. He is an arborist/environmental engineer/Dr. in something I think or he plays one on TV and an expert in fine beers....

The guy just knows everything!!!! He sent me a college thesis paper, I mean, a very detailed email explaining what I need to do to help the drainage and the way to build the wall.... The guy even drew up a diagram!!! Now granted, I didn't understand half of it but I think I gist of it....

So this is what Robert and I did on Saturday.


Sunday it rained all day so we didn't get down in the trenches because we both really didn't feel like getting all muddy....

Monday wasn't very productive either.... Everything was all muddy and I was sick of getting stuck in it.... SOOOOOOO This is what was done on this three day weekend..... I know it doesn't look like much but it's a start....

I also starting tearing up the section on the other side of the driveway... It isn't level and it just doesn't look right.... So I decided to tear it up and start over......

No hot water??? NO PROBLEM!!!! Friday night I went to bed without shutting the garage door... WHOOPS!!!! Well it got pretty cold down here... Like 20 degrees!!!! I KNOW!!!! People who are from up north are saying "KRIPES!!!! That ain't cold!!! Try waking up to -24 degrees you whimp!!!". LOOK!!! It's pretty cold down here alright! Let's get back on track!!! When I went to wash some dishes there was nothing coming out of the facet when I turned it to hot.... DANG!!!! The cold water was coming out just fine.... So I headed out to the workshop were the "Hot water on demand" system is and sure enough the water going into the unit was frozen but luckily no pipes had burst!!! It took a few hours but it thawed out and all is well.... That's the last time I leave my garage door open on a freezing night!!

Oh yeah. They informed us that we are laid off!! DANG!!! Do I smell or something????? This is the 2nd layoff in the last 6 months!!!! KRIPES!!!!

No new pictures yet..... I'm kinda thinking about getting a JOB before I am the retaining wall!!! Talk to you later....

The 'hot water on demand' system ROCKS!!!! Robert Howle , (803) 287-2659, installed it and did an awesome job!!! He even let me help!!! VERY COOL!!! I'm soooooo about learning new stuff!!!!! From this:



To this....



The hot water NEVER runs out and It only heats the water when you need it!!!! Pretty sweet huh??? I'm a full fledge believer now!!!! This is where I purchased it online. They had great knowledge of the product and were very helpful. AND I have the man to install it for you too!!! This guy knows his stuff and in general is a friendly guy who won't try to screw you over. Robert Howle , (803) 287-2659. HEY any guy that will have a beer with me after finishing the job is a cool guy in my book...

I did more work on the retaining wall and it's all 'trial and error'..... This is how I see it. The wall isn't exactly up to my standards but all is not lost!!! The section I did is small enough so I can go back and make adjustment or just tear it down and start over. I've never built a retaining wall before and I am making it up as I go. I want to know what works and what doesn't before I start on the main section on the other side of the driveway...

Operation: 'Drainage ditch' has officially begun!!!!!! As most of you know, I have never been happy with the drainage ditch in the front yard.... Erosion is a huge problem and I have been trying to combat that since I moved in. I tried planting daylilies to spruce it up and I have had many ideas what I wanted to do with it so it didn't look so Sanford & Son-ish....


Early on I messed with the idea of building a retaining wall. But of what????? Then it hit me while I was dozing off to sleep one night... Railroad ties!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! Little background for ya. When I was a kid I loved trains and everything about them, Heck!!!! I still do!!!! Anyways, A family friend, Steve Kockler, loved trains a ton too!!!! I'm still not sure how he worked it out but he convinced my mom to let me skip a day of school so he and I could go up to the big city, Buffalo, and watch trains and check out all the RR yards up there.... This was back in 1987 and I remember it like it was yesterday!!!!! We were at an old RR yard that was being dismantled and I saw piles upon piles of RR ties. They had to go somewhere didn't they?? Steve told me that they

• A. Threw them into a shedder and they turn into mulch.
• B. They sell them to landscaping centers and are sold for landscaping.
  
• C. They just leave them there until the EPA or the city complains enough.

SOOOOOO I went to the local Home Depot, no the women who has teeth of a 19th century chimney sweeper no longer works there, and checked out the RR ties they had. Not only were they too expensive, $10.50 a piece, but they looked like they were shipped to Iraq and used by the troops to shield them against an artillery attack and then sent back to the states to be sold. They were in really bad shape. Forget it!!! I'm not going to buy that crap... I had to go to plan B. I "Googled" 'railroad ties' and BOOM!!!! I had about 100 hits. I guess it's a pretty big business to get them from the RR company who wants to get rid of them and sell them to people at a landscaping center. It's just being a middle man. I was too cheap to do that, SHOCKER!!! I figured there must be a RR company in the area!!! WOO HOO!!!! The Lancaster & Chester RR Co. at your service!!!! I emailed the head of track maintenance Reece! He told me to give him a call and he would be able to help me out. Poor Reece!!! He is a southern bred guy who has a very distinctive southern draw and then you have me, a fast talking yankee. We had a few communication breakdowns and he had to say "Can you repeat that?" at least 20 times because I was talking so fast!!!! He told me where he had bunch just sitting around that I could have. I asked him how much I owed him and this is classic, he said "Hell! You don't owe me anything I just want to get rid of 'em."



With the help from my neighbor, Greg, we went out and hauled back about 10 with our trucks.... Yeah I know there are some macho guys out there saying, "WHAT?? They had two trucks and only got 10???". Sorry but I have my limitations!! They weigh a ton and I was exhausted.... I figured that I can come back and get more when I need. This is pretty funny!!! Want to see how much work I managed to get done for the rest of the day???? OK!!! The picture above this paragraph was taken right before I started working..... AND here is what I accomplished!!!

In my defense it was really muddy and the RR ties were just not leveling out at all.... I had enough and I was all muddy and wet AND cold!!! I took a shower and a nap. I decided that I would tackle it tomorrow... PEOPLE!!! This is not going to be a weekend project!!!! I'll be happy if I get it done by the freakin' summer!!!! But BY GOD! It will get done!!!!!

AND!!!! I purchased my 'hot water on demand' unit on Friday!!! This is the one I got... It comes in this week and I have to line up a HVAC certified person to come out and install it!!! So hopefully I'll have it all set up by the next update I write.... I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

Alrighty... I worked on it a little more on Sunday and.....


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to a Super Bowl party and then going to sleep for at least two days to recoup from all this manual labor...


Want to hear a funny story??? Ask me about the time I ran out of gas and the police came out and everything!!!

SNOW STORM 2007!!! NEWS AT 11!!!!!

I stole that from Erv Weinstein up in Buffalo.... He always said that on commercial breaks while I was watching "That's Incredible"... Crazy guy!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOO I woke up and this is what I saw!!! About 2 inches of snow!!! WOO HOO!!! All you Yankees want another reason to move down to the Palmetto State, South Carolina, besides the great weather, average temperature is 55 degrees year round and you still get the change of seasons, amazingly low cost of living, nice people, JOBS, very low taxes, that everything shuts down when it snows!!! PEOPLE!!!! Let me repeat that in case you didn't read that right, everything shuts down when it snows!!! It snows down here about every 3-4 years and when it does it's an event! It's not like up north where there is a chance of snow from October through April and it's depressing.... Down here it snows for a day and it melts the next!!! So you get your fill of snow for the year and it's gone the next day... Gotta love that! I went for my walk and snapped a few pictures.....

OH I have so big news!!! Details soon!!!! All I can say is that it has to do with a landscaping job that will take me at least a month to complete, The Lancaster & Chester Railroad Co., and some great memories of a great family friend, Steve Kockler!!!!!!

DANG!!!!! When in the wide world of sports am I going to realize that I am not 22 anymore and working all day causes me to spend a week trying to recoup my sore back and muscles?????
Kripes! My house smells like my Grandpa & Grandma Cawleys with the unique order of Ben Gay......God rest their souls!!!!

The natural area is done!! WOO HOO!!!! Take a look and tell me what you think..... If you ask me, I think the guy that built it is a SUPERSTAR!!!! Give him a saws-all and a level and he is unstoppable!!!! You can't stop him but you can only hope to contain him!!!!

Bordering the driveway was a breeze compared to the constant digging and leveling I had to do for the natural area....


It's looking like Uncle Sam owes me a nice sum of money..... At least it seems that way. I used Turbo Tax and it walked me through it all and I even went through it twice to make sure I was coming up with the right figure. With my return I'm planning on having a 'hot water on demand' system. My aunt and uncle have one and my uncle Bill is one fart smeller, I mean, one smart fella..... He is definitely on my 'phone a friend' list if I am ever on "Who wants to be a millionaire". I'm pretty sure he did all the research into one and if it's good enough for him then it's good enough for this hick in Lancaster, SC. With everything I have read about them it's a win/win situation. See for yourself!!!!

IT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD YEAR.... SO FAR!

Yeah I know it's only the first weekend of January but it's been SWEET so far..... Santa was good to me at the end of 2006 even though I'm usually a scrooge at that time of the season. This is all of my Christmas decorating for the whole house!!!


That's right!!! I have a wreath on the front door and that's it. The only reason it's there is because my mom and dad got it for me and demanded it go up.... No tree , lights, plastic Santa Clause or manger scenes. If I want to experience Christmas I can just head over to me parent's house......

All I ask for is stuff for the house.... Things that I know will look good for the ladies and ahhhhhhhhhh stuff that they could give a dang about.......... Take for instance this sectional rug that I know will drive girls crazy like the hard wood floors.

And then I got this for my computer area.... Not too glamorous but damn practical!!!


As you all know, I mentioned how I take the winter off to hibernate, watching a ton of TV and drinking a few beers, but being that global warming is in high gear and it's been near 70 the last couple of days I decided to play around out in the yard. I started to tackle an area that I thought I took care of last year. I sectioned off an area and made it into a natural area. That's just another name for a part of your yard where grass never grows.... As anybody that has known me for at least an hour knows I am a huge fan of bargain shopping! Big Lots is my second home and they had rolls of landscaping border... I saw it and bought a bunch of it thinking it would be easy to install and look GREEEEEEEEEEEAT! Well I was sadly mistaken. I don't need a professional landscaper or anybody just driving by the house to tell me it looks like crap.... Look for yourself...


Told ya... It was time to actually pay the money and do some hard labor so when you drive by your not mistaking my front yard for a local garbage dump. I bought a few 8 ft. long wood borders and went to work.

Yeah yeah yeah, I known the line isn't straight. I just placed them there to see how they would look... The can of beer in the tree was placed there because I didn't want to knock it over doing all my work. My neighbor Greg came over and said I was doing too much work and I looked like I needed to take a break and have a beer with him. Don't have to twist my arm....YUMMY!

So I did enough for one day...... I was going to finish it all up Sunday but it rained like crazy!!!! I did do some work but I had to stop being I was soaking wet and beat from all the dang digging and leveling I have been doing the last two days... SOOOOOO you will have to wait until my next update to see the final product...

Well it's the next weekend and it's STILL not done!!!!! I need to go and get some more material... But here is what I have so far.....

OH YEAH!!!!! This is the next project that I have already started on. I plan on placing those cedar landscaping borders along the whole stretch on driveway..... As you can see I have a few in place already.....

SKEEBO 2002-2006

As you all know, Skeebo was a house guest for about three weeks. She was a GREAT dog and was happier than heck to just chill out and watch some TV with me... Needless to say, we had a groovy time together. It was so nice to come home and have her all happy to see me. Anyways, her mom came and got her and she was all ready to be adopted but she took a turn for the worse. Her mobility was limited due to hip displacement which is pretty common in big dogs. Plus she had a history of strokes AND then her kidneys started to fail... Heck of a laundry list huh???? They rushed her to the vet and there wasn't much left to do. It was best to put her to sleep to stop the suffering. I'm going to miss my buddy.....

Not much new on the home front. OH WAIT!!! There is one thing! LEAVES SUCK!!!! They are all over my yard and clogging up my gutters. So I spent yesterday getting up on my ladder and cleaning all of the gutters.... MAN they were stuffed with leaves! I also showed all of 'em who was boss and busted out the tractor! I spent half the day blowing all of them into a little gully in the back... I think all of them are down from the trees.... At least I hope so, I don't want to rake anymore!!!! Have a good one!